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How To See A Man About A Dog: Collected Writings
How To See A Man About A Dog is a collection of experimental short stories, powerful poems, and pulp fiction prose that will take you on a wild, hilarious, and heartbreaking journey. Surrealist short stories, memoiristic poems, and haunting jokes guide you through the wild imagination of emerging writer Samuel Knox's mind.
"In the light of the moon, a stack of diet pancakes glisten on the dining room table. 'Steven!' The kitchen erupted! 'It is five past your 3 AM Pre-Breakfast Dunch.' Stephen knew all too well that he was late for his self-imposed good therapy, the latest in in-home, trans-fat free therapy." - Holy Cannoli, How To See A Man About A Dog
For the reader looking for a wholly original and experimental mixed-media approach to stories, How To See A Man About A Dog is a much-needed fever dream tour-de-force.
"One size fits all never fits me. Hell, what a size. I supposed, sometime once in my early childhood, that it was all a curse." - My Girl Lately, How To See A Man About A Dog
How To See A Man About A Dog is a kaleidoscopic collage made of equal parts delight and despair. Samuel Knox blends sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and non-fiction into a single enrapturing vision of what it means to be human in the modern age. With over 100 pages of frenetic yet layered experimental fiction, every reader will surely find something to latch onto and enjoy.
"In the light of the moon, a stack of diet pancakes glisten on the dining room table. 'Steven!' The kitchen erupted! 'It is five past your 3 AM Pre-Breakfast Dunch.' Stephen knew all too well that he was late for his self-imposed good therapy, the latest in in-home, trans-fat free therapy." - Holy Cannoli, How To See A Man About A Dog
For the reader looking for a wholly original and experimental mixed-media approach to stories, How To See A Man About A Dog is a much-needed fever dream tour-de-force.
"One size fits all never fits me. Hell, what a size. I supposed, sometime once in my early childhood, that it was all a curse." - My Girl Lately, How To See A Man About A Dog
How To See A Man About A Dog is a kaleidoscopic collage made of equal parts delight and despair. Samuel Knox blends sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and non-fiction into a single enrapturing vision of what it means to be human in the modern age. With over 100 pages of frenetic yet layered experimental fiction, every reader will surely find something to latch onto and enjoy.
127 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 7, 2021
10 people are currently reading
1284 people want to read
About the author
Samuel Knox
1 book40 followersSamuel Knox is an internationally-selling author, blogger, and father of two based out of the southeast.
He's worked as a ghostwriter for several years with pieces featured in The Huffington Post, Forbes, and Business Insider. His fiction is often described as existential, dystopian, and irreverent. An avid dark comedy and literature fan, he enjoys experimenting with media and supporting other writers.
His latest work HOW TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG - COLLECTED WRITINGS was written over eleven years. This darkly comic surrealist work was truly a labor of love made with the intention of bringing light to the darkest corners of modern life.
He's worked as a ghostwriter for several years with pieces featured in The Huffington Post, Forbes, and Business Insider. His fiction is often described as existential, dystopian, and irreverent. An avid dark comedy and literature fan, he enjoys experimenting with media and supporting other writers.
His latest work HOW TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG - COLLECTED WRITINGS was written over eleven years. This darkly comic surrealist work was truly a labor of love made with the intention of bringing light to the darkest corners of modern life.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 11, 2021
Heartbreaking and hilarious. I loved every bit of it. It’s got so many different styles but somehow it kept a cohesive theme/tone.
November 19, 2021
It's the book equivalent of a surrealist painting. Sometimes funny. Sometimes sad. Some interesting thoughts that give an absurdist perspective.
October 31, 2021
This book was sincerely different. I particularly was attracted to the poems towards the end of the collection.
September 20, 2021
Stuck in a loop of what? oh. oh!
September 28, 2021
Honestly had a hard time reading some parts due to the writing style, but enjoyed some of the short writings and stories.
October 26, 2021
Received an ARC copy from Reedsy Discovery
Angry, misanthropic musings via predictable dystopias and varied settings
How to See a Man About a Dog is a collection of vignettes that provide peeks into various odd, lonely dystopias. Knox provides extremely brief prose that seem like setups or premises for short stories, rather than the stories themselves.
The main thematic undertones of this book are loneliness, and anger against oppressive systems. A few of the vignettes focus on hyper capitalistic worlds that show how materialism adds value and convenience, while simultaneously creating a vortex that sucks the meaning out of life. Throughout, we encounter humans who are reeling from a lack of connection with others. Often, they feel no need for human connection since the AI they live with knows them better than any human might. They carry on with the gnawing void of connection, having numbed the desire to care for and be cared for by each other.
The other theme asserts that the human tendency towards ignorance and hate will always win. We encounter protagonists angry about the power structures that ensure the suffering of most, and the apathy and cruelty of others. Cleverly, the prevalence of this dynamic in today’s life is shown via fictional feudal worlds. Vignettes based in the fantastical middle ages show how systems of blatant oppression function solely because of people who are “just doing their job” as soldiers, thugs, innkeepers and prison guards. Knox relates this back to our world as well: “You are about five years from a French style revolution. Do you not see the depression?”
Ultimately, this collection feels repetitive and predictable. Though the settings change, the characters and events feel unaltered across environments. In each vignette we see a misanthrope at odds and angry with the world. Importantly, the collection never progresses past the misanthrope’s initial anger or most basic insight. Rather than raw, How to See a Man About a Dog comes off as unfinished.
Angry, misanthropic musings via predictable dystopias and varied settings
How to See a Man About a Dog is a collection of vignettes that provide peeks into various odd, lonely dystopias. Knox provides extremely brief prose that seem like setups or premises for short stories, rather than the stories themselves.
The main thematic undertones of this book are loneliness, and anger against oppressive systems. A few of the vignettes focus on hyper capitalistic worlds that show how materialism adds value and convenience, while simultaneously creating a vortex that sucks the meaning out of life. Throughout, we encounter humans who are reeling from a lack of connection with others. Often, they feel no need for human connection since the AI they live with knows them better than any human might. They carry on with the gnawing void of connection, having numbed the desire to care for and be cared for by each other.
The other theme asserts that the human tendency towards ignorance and hate will always win. We encounter protagonists angry about the power structures that ensure the suffering of most, and the apathy and cruelty of others. Cleverly, the prevalence of this dynamic in today’s life is shown via fictional feudal worlds. Vignettes based in the fantastical middle ages show how systems of blatant oppression function solely because of people who are “just doing their job” as soldiers, thugs, innkeepers and prison guards. Knox relates this back to our world as well: “You are about five years from a French style revolution. Do you not see the depression?”
Ultimately, this collection feels repetitive and predictable. Though the settings change, the characters and events feel unaltered across environments. In each vignette we see a misanthrope at odds and angry with the world. Importantly, the collection never progresses past the misanthrope’s initial anger or most basic insight. Rather than raw, How to See a Man About a Dog comes off as unfinished.
January 20, 2022
I would write a small synopsis, but honestly, I couldn’t even tell you what I read. The only thing that connects these writings is the general theme of “what the hell did I just read?”
Most of the stories revolve around power, ie government, domestic, and other worldly. There’s a lot of political undertones disguised as “monster” tellings. There’s stories from the beginning of time, present day and post-apocalyptic all trying to warn us of power? Maybe? Again, not really sure.
The author does do a great job of creating existential dread I suppose. So two stars for that!
** I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review
Most of the stories revolve around power, ie government, domestic, and other worldly. There’s a lot of political undertones disguised as “monster” tellings. There’s stories from the beginning of time, present day and post-apocalyptic all trying to warn us of power? Maybe? Again, not really sure.
The author does do a great job of creating existential dread I suppose. So two stars for that!
** I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews